 Artist's impression of the fire; drawing by Andreas Bloch | |
| Date | Pentecost 1822 (26 May) |
|---|---|
| Location | Grue, Norway |
| Coordinates | 60°28′18″N12°2′59″E / 60.47167°N 12.04972°E |
| Deaths | At least 113 |
On 26 May 1822, during the Pentecost service, the church at Grue, Norway, caught fire and at least 113 people were killed. It is the deadliest fire disaster in the history of Norway.
The old Grue Church was located close to Skulstad, north-west of Kirkenær in Solør. [1] It was close to the bank of the River Glomma, and because of the likelihood that it would be undercut by erosion, a decision had been taken in 1794 to rebuild it further from the river, but this had not yet been done. [2] An old woman had prophesied that the church would be destroyed on a Pentecost, either by water or by fire. [3] [4]
The church was made entirely of wood. The oldest section was believed to date to the 13th century and was built using the stave method. It had been rebuilt around 1600 with the addition of two transepts built with round, hand-worked logs and a tall central tower. [4] Above the nave and the two transepts were wide galleries, allowing the church to accommodate up to 700 people. [4] Both nave and transepts had entrance doors which swung inwards. [2] The windows were placed high up on the wall. The exterior of the building was covered with waterproofing pine tar; subsequent calculations estimated that 17 tons of tar had been applied over the two hundred years before the fire. [4]
On 26 May 1822, a bright, hot day in early summer, 500–600 people were in the church for the Pentecost service, including mothers with babies to be baptised. [3] As the vicar, Iver Hesselberg, was coming to the end of his sermon on weather and fire as images of the Holy Spirit, [4] there was a loud noise as fire broke through the wooden wall. The church was completely destroyed in the ensuing blaze. [3]
The three doors all opened inward, and the main, south door was soon blocked by fire. Panic broke out as the pressure of those trying to escape hindered keeping the doors open, and the north door itself blocked the exit for people descending from the north gallery. Some fell in front of the doors and others climbed over them. [3] People jumped from the galleries onto those below, and some bodies were found crowded together in standing position. At least 113 people were killed; [2] a total of 116 is also mentioned. [1] The dead included 69 women and 36 children under the age of 15, but only eight or ten men. Unmarried young people and women traditionally sat separated from the men, who were closer to the south door and were able to escape through it before it became blocked, while other men, including the vicar, managed to save themselves by climbing out of the windows, although badly burnt by the melting stained glass. [3] [4] Many bodies were unidentifiable; Vogt Dines Guldberg Høegh, who had tried in vain to save lives by calming the crowd, was recognised by his sabre. [3] The sabre is today on display in the sacristy of the new church. [4]
On 1 June the victims were buried in five coffins (Høegh in a separate coffin) in a common grave dug where the altar of the destroyed church had been. [4]
The cause of the fire was never discovered. One theory is that a spark from a fire vessel in which the church servant brought embers to light the altar candles could have set fire to the wall. [3] [4] Another theory was that someone had experimented with a burning-glass outside the church. [4]
The new church, which is located in the center of Kirkenær, was completed in 1828. A standing stone was erected in front of it in 1922 in remembrance of the victims. [1] In the spring of 2005 a historical marker with photos and a map was erected at Skulstad to the south of the location of the old church, which was covered by the river 40 years after the fire. [4]
One consequence of the Grue Church fire was a law which was passed the following year prescribing that all doors of public buildings must swing outwards. [1] [3]
Peter Wessel Zapffe's novel Lyksalig pinsefest fire samtaler med Jørgen (Blissful Pentecost: Four Dialogues with Jørgen) is based on the disaster, [2] treating it as an instance of the problem of evil. [4]
Grue is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær. Other villages in the municipality include Bergesida, Grinder, Namnå, Risberget, Rotberget, Skasenden, and Svullrya.
Lom Stave Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Lom municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Fossbergom in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. It is the church for the Lom parish which is part of the Nord-Gudbrandsdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden stave church was built around the year 1170 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 350 people.
Flesberg Stave Church is a stave church located at Flesberg in Viken county, Norway.
Hoff Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Østre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kraby, just east of the municipal centre of Lena. It is the church for the Hoff parish which is part of the Toten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The white, stone church was built in a long church design during the 12th century using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 332 people.
Kirkenær is the administrative centre of Grue Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern shore of the river Glomma. The village of Namnå lies about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the north and the village of Grinder lies about 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) to the south.
Vår Frue Church is a medieval parish church of the Church of Norway in Trondheim municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the downtown Midtbyen area of the city of Trondheim, just a few blocks north of the Nidaros Cathedral. It is one of the two churches for the Nidaros og Vår Frue parish which is part of the Nidaros domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros. The gray, stone church was built in a long church design in the late 1100s using plans drawn up by Bjørn Sigvardsson. The church seats about 540 people.
Skien Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skien Municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the town of Skien. It is the church for the Skien parish which is part of the Skien prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark. The red brick church was built in a cruciform design in 1894 using plans drawn up by the architect Hagbarth Martin Schytte-Berg. The church seats about 1,050 people.
Church building in Norway began when Christianity was established there around the year 1000. The first buildings may have been post churches erected in the 10th or 11th century, but the evidence is inconclusive. For instance under Urnes Stave Church and Lom Stave Church there are traces of older post churches. Post churches were later replaced by the more durable stave churches. About 1,300 churches were built during the 12th and 13th centuries in what was Norway's first building boom. A total of about 3,000 churches have been built in Norway, although nearly half of them have perished. From 1620 systematic records and accounts were kept although sources prior to 1620 are fragmented. Evidence about early and medieval churches is partly archaeological. The "long church" is the most common type of church in Norway. There are about 1620 buildings recognized as churches affiliated with the Church of Norway. In addition, there are a number of gospel halls belonging to the lay movement affiliated with the Church of Norway as well as churches belonging to other Christian bodies. Until the 20th century, most churches were built from wood. 220 buildings are protected by law, and an additional 765 are listed as valuable cultural heritage.
Grue Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Grue Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the village of Kirkenær. It is the church for the Grue parish which is part of the Solør, Vinger og Odal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The white, stone church was built in a long church design in 1828 using plans drawn up by the architect Hans Linstow. The church seats about 500 people.
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